‘Creative’ Lions can expose All Blacks

ALL Blacks legend Sean Fitzpatrick reckons Warren Gatland has picked a high class British and Irish Lions squad for the tour of New Zealand.

Fitzpatrick, who played 92 times for the All Blacks, believes that if New Zealand are just a little bit off their game, they will be exposed by what he has labelled a “hugely competitive” Lions side.

“If you had asked me 12 months ago, ‘have the Lions got any chance?’ I’d have said not a snowball’s chance in hell,” he said.

“But 12 months on, the influence of Vern Cotter (Scotland), Eddie Jones (England) and Joe Schmidt (Ireland), in particular, has changed my thinking.

“Traditionally the Six Nations is a game of attrition and not very expansive, but this was probably the best Six Nations I’ve seen in terms of the quality of rugby and the creation of space, and defensively it was also outstanding.

“It’s an excellent squad. He’s obviously thought about it pretty long and hard, he’s thought about a game-plan that can beat the All Blacks and then he’s gone away and found the players who can do that.”